Compare Today’s Refinance Rates

What are today's refinance rates?

On Tuesday, January 19, 2021, according to Bankrate’s latest survey of the nation’s largest refinance lenders, the benchmark 30-year fixed refinance rate is 2.960% with an APR of 3.170%. The average 15-year fixed refinance rate is 2.450% with an APR of 2.690%. The 5/1 adjustable-rate refinance (ARM) rate is 3.060% with an APR of 4.050%.

Current mortgage refinance rates

Mortgage rates change all the time, driven by factors like the economy, Treasury bond rates and demand. Lenders nationwide provide weekday mortgage rates to our comprehensive national survey of the most current rates available. The interest rate table below is updated daily. Use these as a guide to what’s available, but keep in mind your rate may vary depending on your qualifications and the lender you choose.

Why trust Bankrate?

Bankrate has been the authority in personal finance since it was founded in 1976 as the “Bank Rate Monitor,” a print publication for the banking industry. Bankrate has been surveying and collecting information on mortgage and refinance rates from the nation’s largest lenders for more than 30 years. Top publications such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNBC and others depend on Bankrate as a trusted source of financial information, so you know you’re getting information you can trust.

How Bankrate's mortgage and refinance rates are calculated

Here you can see the latest marketplace average rates for a wide variety of refinance loans. The interest rate table above is updated daily to give you the most current refinance rates when choosing a home loan. APRs and rates are based on no existing relationship or automatic payments. For these averages, the customer profile includes a 740 FICO score and a single-family residence. To learn more, see understanding Bankrate rate averages.

Is now a good time to refinance?

The short answer is yes, there’s never been a better time to refinance your mortgage.

Mortgage rates are at or near to record lows as 2021, begins. It’s anybody’s guess whether rates will stay this low, but the Federal Reserve has pledged to keep its federal funds rate near zero for the next year or two as the economy recovers from the pandemic.

The math for refinancers is pretty simple: If you can break even on the closing costs in a year or at most two years, and you plan to stay in the home longer than that (preferably much longer), refinancing is beneficial. You’ll cut your monthly interest outlay and pay down your loan principal faster. It’s one of the few sure-thing financial moves in a world of uncertainty.

Why haven't homeowners refinanced?

Months of record-low mortgage interest rates have led to a refinancing boom, but many homeowners have still not taken advantage of the potential savings. By some estimates, as many as 20 million current mortgage holders have interest rates of 4 percent or more, and have not considered getting a new loan with a rate that can be a full percentage point lower.

In a Bankrate nationwide poll, the reasons for not refinancing varied, but a little more than half of the respondents said they hadn’t even considered a refi and 27% admitted they don’t know what their current mortgage rate is.

Many homeowners we polled said refinancing wouldn’t save them enough money to make it worthwhile, which is often true for borrowers who are near the end of their mortgage term. To that end, millennials were more likely to refinance in 2020 than baby boomers, the poll found.

Here are some tips if you’re hoping to refinance while rates are still low:

• Developing good saving habits and sticking to them will help you be able to afford your closing costs when you’re ready to refinance. With enough cash in the bank, you may even be able to afford the higher monthly payments of a shorter-term loan, which will save you lots of money in interest in the long run.
• Look for no-cost closing options. Many respondents to the survey said the upfront costs of a refinance were a deterrent, but lots of lenders offer no-cost closings. Keep in mind, these options usually work out to be more expensive over time, because the fees you’d pay in a lump sum when you close get rolled into your loan balance or a higher rate instead, which means you wind up paying interest on those costs, too.
• Get your paperwork organized in advance. Your lender will ask for a lot of documents when you apply for a new mortgage, and it can be stressful getting everything in order. Compile things like tax returns, pay stubs, W-2s, current mortgage statements and bank statements in advance to reduce the stress.
• If you have poor credit, look into government programs or try to give your score a boost. There are many options available to low-credit borrowers such as FHA loans. And while you can expect to pay higher interest rates than people with stellar credit, you may still be able to reduce the rate on your current loan.

Finding the best refinance rate

The best way to get the lowest rate is to shop around. Start by checking out our rate table above to see what lenders are offering. Make sure to find out what offers you can get from the banks or credit unions you already work with, because some lenders will waive certain fees or give better terms to existing customers.

Mortgage interest rates vs. APR?

Be sure to compare APRs, not just interest rates. The APR (annual percentage rate) is the total cost of the loan, including everything from interest rate to administrative fees. This is how much you’ll actually pay; the interest rate is just one portion of your total cost. So while some lenders might have higher interest rates, their fees could be lower, making the APR lower than someone with a lower interest rate, or vice versa.

What to you need to know about refinancing your mortgage

By Jeff Ostrowski

What is a mortgage refinance?

A refinance lets you pay off your old loan and replace it with a new mortgage at a new term and a new rate. You’ll have to provide a small mountain of documents, including tax returns and bank statements.

How do refinance rates differ from mortgage purchase rates?

Refinance and purchase loans typically have the same rate. Borrowers might notice slightly higher refinance rates when they’re in demand. Experts don’t recommend trying to time the market — in other words, waiting for rates to drop — as there are so many variables that can affect rates, making it difficult to accurately predict whether they’ll rise or fall.

If you find a rate that will save you money, then it’s a good idea to lock it in so you don’t risk missing out if rates jump.

Types of refinancing

Rate and term refinance: A rate and term refinance lets you replace your existing mortgage with a new one that has a different rate, terms or both. Unless you make a lump sum payment toward your principal, it does not change how much you owe.

With a rate and term refinance borrowers can reduce their interest rate, lower their monthly payments (by extending their loan) or shorten their term (which raises monthly payments) in order to pay off the loan faster.

This can be a helpful option for people who have high-interest rates and qualify for a lower rate, thereby saving money each month and over the life of the loan.

Rate and term refinances are also useful products for those who want to change the terms of their loan. For example, if you need to reduce your monthly payments, you might be able to extend your loan, so your monthly payments are smaller but you pay off your loan in a longer amount of time. The opposite is true, too: if you want to pay off your loan faster, you can shorten the term and pay higher monthly payments. Of course, you can combine a rate change (presumably locking in a lower rate) with a term change (longer or shorter).

You can’t get cash out of your home equity with a rate and term refinance, to do that you would need to get a cash-out refinance.

Cash-out refinance: A cash-out refinance allows you to tap your equity by refinancing your mortgage. Because you're withdrawing cash from your home’s value, the new mortgage will be higher. Lenders typically limit cash-out refinances to no more than 80 percent of your home’s value so that you still have some equity left in your home.

Sometimes lenders will also charge higher interest rates because the loan amount is increasing. Between a larger mortgage and higher interest rate, make sure you run the numbers before you go this route.

Streamline refinance: Streamline refinance is a product specifically for FHA-insured mortgages. The advantage of streamline refinancing is that there are minimal credit requirements and the loan processing is typically fast (because appraisals aren’t required and there are fewer asset and income verification requirements). A streamline refinance can also be less expensive than conventional refinancing. Some lenders offer streamline refinances with no upfront costs wherein the lender will pay some or all of the closing costs in exchange for a higher interest rate.

Basic requirements of a streamline refinance include the following:

• Must be an FHA mortgage
• All mortgage payments must be up to date
• The refinance will benefit the borrower (i.e. save the borrower money)
• Borrowers can’t get more than $500 out of the mortgage that will be refinanced

Average cost of refinancing your mortgage

Closing costs for refinancing your mortgage can run thousands of dollars, usually between 2 and 5 percent of the loan amount. These costs also vary by where you live, as origination fees, third-party fees and taxes differ by city and state.

At the median U.S. home price of $320,000 in October 2020, expect to pay about $6,400 to as much as $16,000 in refinance closing costs. But there’s a wide variation nationally in these numbers.

The average total for closing costs on single-family homes in the U.S. in 2019 was $5,749, including taxes, according to ClosingCorp, a real estate data firm. However, that figure for the District of Columbia was $25,800 while New York state came in at $12,847. On the other end, closing costs in Indiana were $1,909, while Missouri was $2,063 and Iowa $2,194.

Is it worth it to refinance?

Whether it’s worth it to refinance depends totally on the numbers, no guesswork involved. It’s all a matter of when the savings outweigh the costs.

Bankrate’s mortgage refinance calculator will run the numbers for your specific mortgage rate and term and give you the exact number of months it will take to break even and start saving.

If you’d rather not run the numbers just yet, you can be pretty sure you’ll save money with a mortgage refinance if you shave 1 percentage point or more off your current mortgage rate. Also figure that to get the best rate, you’ll need to have a credit score of 740 or higher and have enough equity in your home (at least 20 percent) to avoid the cost of private mortgage insurance.

Here’s a quick look at why people refinance their mortgage:

• Saving money on interest costs by lowering your monthly payment and or the term (number of years) you pay the loan.
• Getting rid of an adjustable-rate loan. These loans with annual interest-rate resets have fallen out of favor and with good reason. Why take a chance on rates fluctuating when you can lock in a sure and low rate for the life of the loan?
• Raising cash. If you need money to pay for home improvements or fund college for your kids, home equity can be tapped with a cash-out refi where you receive some of your equity as a check at closing. The lower interest rate may mean you’ll have the cash and your payments won’t rise either.
• Take advantage of your improved credit. If your credit was tarnished when you first took out your mortgage and has improved since, you may be able to save even more. Your new rate will reflect your improved credit and the prevailing rock-bottom interest rates.

Getting ready to refinance

What you will need to refinance

To refinance, you’ll need to apply for a new mortgage. Lenders will typically verify employment and run a credit check.

Documents you'll need:

• Identification
• Tax returns
• Proof of assets, including bank statements and brokerage account statements.

Lender requirements vary, so talk to your lender about what sort of documentation you need to supply.

How to refinance in 5 steps

• Check your credit score
• Figure out how long it will take you to break even on a refi using this calculator.
• Compare lenders with the lowest APRs. You'll want to identify lenders with the best rate and terms. Check out Bankrate’s lender reviews to help make your decision.
• Once you’ve identified your lender, find out what paperwork you need. The faster you gather all the required documents, the faster the lender will be able to process your loan.
• Don’t do anything with your credit until the new mortgage closes. Opening new accounts or running up your credit cards can derail your application.

How much equity do I need to refinance?

For a cash-out refinance, most lenders require that you have a minimum of 20 percent equity in your home. For a rate-and-term refinance, the equity requirement will vary by lender.